Mark two
by Creatividadqueamo
Summary: Bruce Banner was in a never ending battle with the Hulk until the day that he met a peculiar girl in a Brazilian Market. The girl with no name gets in his head and under his skin easier than he would like, but what really get's to him is that the Hulk never wants her to leave... and neither does he.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm a freak. _Despair and anger washed through a girl with no name in the middle of a busy Brazilian market. No one knew her; she kept herself a secret from everyone. Anyone who recognized her face would swear she was mute; talking built relationships and relationships built trust. She feared herself too much to let anyone trust her.

She loved people; they had the capability to be so good. Despite the jeers and remarks of the average, jaded person, it was harder to be truly evil than truly good. Though, the nameless girl was good with a happy medium. She nodded at the fruit salesman, giving him her list. He honestly thought she was a mute and was accustomed to this routine.

"Hello again, my dear, mute friend. It is nice to see you." His accent was thick, but his English was getting much better. He gave her half price in exchange for word a day lessons. That day's word was apple.

"Mute? Why are you shopping alone?" A man's voice piped up behind her; she turned with a fake smile and froze. She knew that face. She could feel the blood drain from her face as she took in the innocent smile of Dr. Banner, Ross' first experiment.

She wasted no time. If he was here, the military wasn't close behind. She dropped her fruit and sprinted away, not bothering to head back to her shack; everything she needed was in her bag.

Unfortunately, Banner was really fast. It was barely a half a minute before he had her cornered on the other side of the village. She panted and gulped, terror making her brain go fuzzy. _He's on the run too. He won't hurt you. He's just going to give away your position. No worries. You can get out before the military comes- _

He interrupted her frantic thoughts. "I'm not going to hurt you; please, calm down. I need to know how you know me." He voice as firm, controlled. Rhiannon felt relief at this; at least he wasn't going to eat her.

"You're Bruce Banner." Her voice was cracked and rough from lack of use. His face twitched a little though he was still firmly in control. His fists flexed and his breathing slowed deliberately.

"If you try to bring me in, I'll just hulk out and run." There was more anger in his voice this time and a little fear to boot. Regardless, this gave Rhiannon hope. She could go back to being the nameless girl in some other country as soon as Banner calmed down.

"I'm not the one trying to bring you in. I ran because you're not as good at hiding as me, and the military is always right on your trail. I don't want to get caught, because you can't cover your tracks." He crooked an eyebrow at her, obviously confused by her statement. _What are you running from? _The thought wasn't meant to be heard, and it hurt her ears; there was a fierce, earsplitting roar behind it that punctuated every word. Rhiannon hated people who projected their thoughts.

"So if I walked away and disappeared into another country, even more far removed than this one, you wouldn't follow me?" His eyebrow was still lifted; he didn't trust her.

"Quite the contrary, I would run as far away as I possibly could. I can't risk being near you." Bruce's face visibly paled, his hands fisting once more. He must have sensed her sincerity.

"How do you know all this?" The stench of anxiety and anger rolling off of him was making her faint. She struggled to keep from swaying and stared right into his brown eyes, daring him to turn, to try her.

"I'm mark two." She let that sink in, watching as panic was added to the despair and the anger. His heart rate started to rise, and his entire being seemed to become livid.

"They continued the research?" She nodded yes and watched as the man, so strictly controlled and barricaded, descended into a panicked mess. _A hulk with a guilty conscious, how funny_. She came to the realization that she felt more comfortable facing him as he started to lose control completely; the man was far more dangerous to her than the monster.

He gasped out a strangled, "run," as he fell to the ground, but Rhiannon just smiled and crouched in front of him. Lifting his face to look into her eyes; green and startled, they stared back.

She knew what he would see: the same shade of green and a gentle, young face to lull him out. The hulk was mesmerized by the calm she offered him. He stayed seated in front of her, staring down at her from his impressive height, as she weeded through his mind; he and the doctor were complete opposites, one a tormented, aged soul and the other a child. A giant, green, and angry child but a child nonetheless.

"You're not so bad. A calm Hulk is much better than a tortured doctor." With their minds connected, the hulk could understand her perfectly, and he made a sad coo in agreement.

Rhiannon was surprised when she heard Banner's voice in the background. _WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE? _She literally burst out laughing. Gently stepping up onto the hulk's knee and looking into his fluorescent green eyes again.

"The only way to do this is by draining biological energy. I'm literally stealing your life force right now. Thankfully, the Hulk is sort of indestructible so you've got plenty to spare. Sorry, I should have asked first." With that she told the Hulk to go back to sleep and the good doctor reemerged, panting and clutching at his stretched out pants.

"You had better go before they get here." That was more of a thank you than he could possibly know.


	2. Chapter 2

"I want you to track someone down and recruit them." Bruce had burst into Tony's workshop very suddenly, looking upset and slightly out of breath. Tony didn't worry about his control, but his well being could be called into question.

"Why not bring it up with Fury?" Tony asked out of curiosity; he had already started tapping into his satellites, ready to scan the globe for his friend.

"I don't trust him not to use her or turn her back over to Ross. She's too powerful for him to just stand idly by, but once she's here, she'll be safe." This made Tony very curious. He turned to the doctor with a smile.

"This is very interesting, Dr. Banner. Why is it that you want to pull her into our ranks if she is such a risk?" Tony wasn't worried; he took it all in stride, more interested in the challenge than the consequences.

"I need her. She can control the Hulk. He's getting too powerful; I don't think I'll be able to contain him on my own." The pained look in his eyes was enough to make Tony cringe, but he just nodded and asked for a name.

Bruce silently handed him a picture of a girl taken in a busy Brazilian market. She looked about seventeen and had startlingly black hair and silver eyes surrounded by flawlessly tanned skin. The frailness of her body was emphasized by the defensive pose she adopted, arms snuggling wrapped over a simple, blue blouse.

"This is a kid."

"Yeah."

"Don't tell me Ross made a she-hulk out of a little girl." Tony looked truly upset for the first time in all the time that Bruce had known him. He stared at the picture for a moment longer before starting to input information into the computer.

"He didn't make a she-hulk."

Tony spent two straight weeks in his workshop after that, tracking the girl down. She was really good at hiding, but Tony had single minded genius on his side so after the fifteenth agonizing day, he had a crystal clear image of her in the middle of the South Korean rain forest.

He came strutting into Bruce's lab with an apple in one hand and a folder in the other. He gave Bruce a smug smirk and slapped the folder down on the table. "Found her." Bruce looked at him with wide eyes.

"How did you find her so soon?" He was worried that if Tony could find her, the military would be able to as well.

"I'm Tony Stark." He said nonchalantly, taking a bite from his apple and giving Bruce a look. Bruce just rolled his eyes and picked up the folder, looking at a picture of the nameless girl surrounded by dense rain forest. She was carrying fire wood toward a small hut and had stopped to look up at the skies. Her crystalline, silver eyes seemed to lock with his through the picture.

"That picture was taken three seconds before my spy plane thingy mysteriously steered itself into a rock." He chuckled and turned to leave, tossing his apple into the trash. "C'mon. I've got a jet waiting."

When normal people get on a plane, they think to themselves _the worst thing that can happen is that the turbulence shakes us a bit and we have to land. _Bruce wondered what it would be like to think that was the worst thing that could happen while he preoccupied himself with deadly scenarios that involved military air strikes, pressurized cabins, and a very large, green rage monster.

_Just meditate, Bruce. You'll be there soon. _He focused on his breathing and zoned out. He was roused four hours later when they landed. Tony came out of his plane-bedroom and stretched, yawning loudly.

"Who's up for a fantastic breakfast courtesy of Stark Air? I am." He eagerly rubbed his hands together and sat at the bar where all his favorite foods were waiting. Bruce grabbed a cup of tea and a strawberry or two but was too nervous to eat anything substantial.

After he finished his meal, Tony led Bruce off the plane and grabbed a large backpack and several other hiking tools. "Let's get this show on the road. We've got about seven miles to cover." Tony led the expedition with his fancy GPS. The little spy unit had locked onto the girls position before its unfortunate incident, and the satellites had been keeping track of her movements ever since. Tony had a little bleep on his GPS that moved as she moved.

Bruce tried not to feel bad about tracking her down like a dog; he shuddered as he realized this was almost exactly how Ross had tracked him, just a blip on a map. He closed his eyes for a second and thought as loud as he could _I doubt you'll hear this, but I wanted to give you a heads up. Don't be scared. _He opened his eyes again and started hiking.

It didn't take long for Bruce to decide that he hated the rain forest; it was wet and muggy with every form of annoying creature and insect known to man. He was starting to get seriously angry at the bugs that were trying to chew him away.

Tony was remarkably unaffected and remained uncharacteristically silent as they walked; a fact for which Bruce was very grateful. It took them five hours to make it to the edge of the girl's habitat, so to speak. Again he felt a twinge of guilt for thinking about her like an animal.

"It's actually wise of you to think that way. You don't get a much more dangerous predator than me." They both whipped around to find the girl standing behind them, casually leaning up against a tree.

"You got my warning?" Bruce asked, hoping she wouldn't hate him too much. Her eyes flashed green before she answered.

"Yes. The hulk sort of amplifies your thoughts; you really didn't need to yell." She pushed off the tree and walked out of the shade, revealing how dangerously skinny and pale she was. "I assume that's why you came; you need help controlling him?" She raised a questioning eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Yes-" Bruce was cut off before he could explain by Tony.

"You can read peoples thoughts." He was staring intently at the girl, obviously accessing the danger. "What else can you do?"

"That's really none of your business, Mr. Stark. And no, I will not be interpreting Miss. Potts for you." She gave him a warning glare. He raised his hands in surrender. She turned her attentions back to Bruce who was containing a chuckle.

"He's getting too powerful for me to control. He keeps trying to come out when there's nothing to provoke him. I could be perfectly calm with no stimuli, and he'll just decide he wants to come out and play." He was desperate for a solution.

"You're first mistake is that you think you need to control him at all. He wants to be part of your team; the avengers have given him a home. He can't really be with his family if he's stuck in you, can he? You need to learn to communicate with him rather than trying to keep him in a cage; it's cruel." She eyes flashed green once more, flickering in the sun and glassing over slightly. "He's lonely." She seemed sad for him, but made her face unnaturally expressionless once her eyes returned to normal.

Bruce was flabbergasted by this. He was barely able to contain his shock and saw the Tony was staring at her slack jawed. Bruce managed to nod his head. "Can you teach me? You'll be safe at the avenger's mansion. If Ross can't get me there, he won't be able to get you." He let the sincerity of his statement shine threw his eyes and thoughts.

The girl was skittish; the mention of Ross and going back to civilization made her arms twitch slightly and her eyes take on a dark cast. Tony decided it was his turn. "Not to mention, the mansion is much less bug infested and… tree-y." He looked around the clearing with disdain. "C'mon, we're inviting you to be an avenger; what's the worst that could happen?" The girls head snapped up in alarm at that, causing Bruce to groan and hit Tony on the head.

"We don't want to use you for that. I need you so that I can help them, or the hulk can. So you'd be an avenger by proxy. We would never force you to fight." The girl seemed a little less panicked by this prospect.

"Ross really hasn't been able to reach you? They haven't performed any tests on you?" She sighed when Bruce shook his head. She spent a few minutes chewing on her lip and wringing her hands before she centered herself and looked Bruce in the eyes.

"Okay. I'll help." Bruce couldn't keep from smiling like a kid on Christmas day. He'd never felt more relieved. He held out his hand for her to shake.

"Bruce Banner."

"Rhiannon Beckett."


	3. Chapter 3

Rhiannon seemed totally at ease in the plane as they took off. She's been a great help on their way back and had cut their hiking time in half. Living in the rainforest made you very crafty, apparently. She seemed like a very down to earth sort of person, though she did have a sense of humor. She'd proved this when she told Tony that there was a poisonous centipede on his back and stood back, giggling in cruel delight, while he danced around like a mad man.

She settled into one of the recliners in the cabin and savored the feeling of soft leather against her back. She curled up and fell asleep before they'd even taken off. At least it appeared as if she'd fallen asleep; Bruce didn't believe that she actually trusted them that much yet.

He settled on the floor like her had before and focused on breathing. He was frustrated that he couldn't get back to the meditative state he'd managed so flawlessly before. He was hyperaware of the girl's presence; every twitch or loud breath made him snap an eye open and stare. He wasn't afraid of her though, to his own surprise. She gave him an involuntary sense of safety that he had a startlingly fierce need to protect.

When meditation failed, he resorted to pacing quietly. He stared out of windows, build a house of forks, and played a game of solitaire before giving up entirely. He collapsed in one of the arm chairs, wishing with all his might that the plane ride could just be over already.

"You have got the loudest projections I have ever heard. It's like you're screaming in hopes someone will here you." Bruce was startled to hear her voice; he thought that she'd been a sleep, but when he looked at her, she was sitting up with her elbows on her knees, rubbing her temples.

"I'm sorry." He wasn't really sure how to fix that problem. "Can you hear everyone's thoughts all the time?" His scientific mind kicked in as he scanned through possible causes for her power and ways to suppress unwanted thoughts.

"No, I have to be trying to hear nearly everyone. Some people just project their thoughts, and you happen to be one of them." She sighed and stood, walking over to the bar where she poured a stiff drink. "I can't get drunk. My cell's use surrounding biological energy to heal the damage done by alcohol so I can't even really drink." She walked over and held the drink out to him, killing the question that had risen in his mind about biological energy.

He stared at the alcohol incredulously. She couldn't be serious. He couldn't let himself surrender control while on a plane. He couldn't rationalize how she could be offering him alcohol with a serious face, but she was.

"I can't drink that."

"Yes, you can, and you will. Take it before I make you take it." He reluctantly took the cup but didn't even feign the intention to drink it. He wasn't stupid, and this was a very stupid idea.

She stood in front of him and watched him expectantly, but he held her gaze, refusing to do as she asked (or rather demanded). "The hulk is asleep. What are you worried about? You wanted me to help you, and I am. Drink the scotch; it'll quiet your thoughts and show you that you don't have to act like a prison warden all the time." She stared him down until he reluctantly took a sip.

He had to admit he loved the burn of the drink sliding down his throat. It had been way too long since the last time he tasted good scotch, though he had always preferred wine. He drank the rest of it, savoring each gulp and the burn it provided.

Rhiannon poured him a glass of wine next, apparently catching that he preferred it. She left the bottle by his chair and headed back to her chair, where she curled up and closed her eyes again. She muttered something about drinking the plane dry before seemingly falling asleep.

Tony walked in three minutes later and stopped when he saw Bruce pouring wine into a glass. His eyes went wide as he stared at Bruce. "You're… drinking. Alcohol. On my plane." His face was blank with shock.

"Apparently my thoughts are too loud, so I have been instructed to get as drunk as I possibly can before I pass out." He sighed, not bitter but wary of the possibilities for spectacular failure. He took another sip of wine, actually kind of grateful to be given the opportunity to drink again.

"She's keeping you from Hulking out?" Tony seemed to approve of her advice, because he gave her an almost grateful look before grabbing the scotch from the bar.

"She assured me that the hulk is asleep. She also said that I'm a prison warden." Bruce was feeling the heaviness of the alcohol set in and felt grateful for the quiet mellow.

Tony just laughed and held his glass out for a toast. "To drinking until we pass out."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A note from the author: **_

_**Hello, Friends! Thanks for the reviews, first of all. I'm doing this, and many other stories, as an independent project for my creative writing class so I am actually looking for constructive criticism, but thank you very much for the positive feedback. **_

_**Second of all, I just wanted to admit that I usually hate original characters with deep and unbridled passion, so if it seems that I make the main character overtly unintelligent, it's because she is. Hopefully, I won't be responsible for quite as much destruction as some of my OC predecessors; I'm trying to stay as true to the avenger's characters as I can. If you like it enough, I'll try to finish it on a happy note; I'm notorious for killing off characters, unfortunately, so brace yourselves. Let me know what you think. **_

_**Muchas Gracias ~ CQA **_

Rhiannon woke when the plane touched down at Tony's personal airport; she felt refreshed and at ease in the small cabin despite the fact that the hulk was snoring on the ground next to her arm chair.

She smirked as she took in the scene, internally congratulating herself for a successful experiment. She had known that enough alcohol would be enough to get Bruce to release control, but she hadn't been sure that the Hulk would remain calm when he emerged. The poor thing didn't understand that there was a way out that didn't involve ripping Bruce apart.

Even in her sleep she had a measure of influence over the Hulk, so she hadn't worried about any destruction. She had just wondered if the Hulk would be traumatized by the event; apparently, he'd been okay.

She would have to wake him to get out of her chair; his body was taking up a majority of the floor in the small cabin. She wasn't sure how he would manage moving though. She was about to give his arm a little poke when Tony walked in from his bedroom.

He stopped dead in his tracks, holding the door he'd just opened with white knuckles as he observed the Hulk. His eyes darted from the Hulks peaceful face to Rhiannon, who was struggling not to cackle maniacally.

His face was priceless as he asked, "Why is there a Hulk in my plane? This is my favorite plane." His voice roused the Hulk, much to his terror. He tried to look at ease as the Hulk began to stir, but fear was radiating off of him in waves.

Rhiannon was focused on the Hulk who was blinking owlishly and smiling slightly, as if he'd woken up from a good dream. She smiled at him and sent him a little good morning. She realized too late that the energy for that came from the wrong place.

Her eyes snapped to Tony with alarm. He seemed unaffected, but she didn't trust it. "Are you ok? I'm so sorry." She would have preferred if that desolate guilt hadn't wheedled its way into her voice.

He just gave her a look, obviously stating that paying attention to whatever she was doing was completely out of the question under the circumstances. She decided to explain later and tried to bury the guilt.

She had remained the nameless girl because getting close to people could result in exactly what just happened. She'd take energy from someone she didn't mean to and they would hate her for violating them that way. Obviously, sending a wordless message didn't take a lot, but she should have been paying more attention to where it came from.

She focused back on the Hulk who was puzzled by her sudden change in mood. She just smiled at him and patted his huge arm. "C'mon, buddy. It's time to get off the plane."

"I cannot believe your giving me the silent treatment right now. What are you, five?" Rhiannon was staring at Bruce with accusing eyes, her arms crossed across her chest. She'd spent ten minutes explaining everything to Bruce, carefully ignoring the endless glare he had given her throughout the story.

"No. I'm a grown man, which is exactly why you should tell me when you have plans like this. I don't even mind the whole exercise so much as the fact that you _fell_ _asleep_ during an experiment that could have resulted in the death of innocents. I _need_ you to be more responsible than that!" Rhiannon observed that the angry tone in his voice didn't quite match the tired look on his face.

"If I had told you ahead of time what I was planning, would you have done it? I have my doctorate in psychology; I'm not exactly flying blind here." She was annoyed by his condescending tone, and his utter lack of faith. She felt almost hurt.

Bruce faltered, obviously pondering her words carefully. He sighed in resignation before returning his hands to his temples. "Fine. Please, just tell me the basic outline of your plan; just give me a hint."

"Basically? I'm going to treat you like you have a multiple personality disorder." She kept her voice cold and focused on the problem at hand. He didn't need fixing; he just needed a guiding hand, but he would never recognize that. This was the easiest way to explain it so he would understand.

He just stared at her for a minute before he collapsed in a kitchen chair and let his head hit the counter with a resounding thud. "Wonderful." Rhiannon just chuckled and walked out of the kitchen, heading up to the room Tony had graciously offered her.

Rhiannon got restless in the simple domestic environment that the mansion offered. She was frugal with food and expenditures, despite the fact that she had endless access to sustenance and money thanks to Stark.

At dinner she had pecked at the full plate of expensive sea food and sipped at her water, but she couldn't eat much. She went up to bed and tried to sleep, knowing she was going to have a rough day trying to help Bruce. The bed was too soft and the feather pillows were too smooth against her face. The comforter was too warm, and her pajamas were too comfortable. Years of living in third world countries made the adjustment difficult.

She found herself wandering the halls of the mansion, examining the rooms carefully. She was able to peak into almost all of the bedrooms without waking anyone up and found that their bedrooms were lined up in that one hallway. Hers was the last one on the left and Bruce's room was directly across the hall.

Tony's room was on the right of hers and a very large man with long, blond hair had the room directly across. The next set of rooms belonged to another large, blond man and a red haired woman. The last two rooms had doors at the very edge of the hallway near the grand staircase that led down to the third floor. One of the rooms was unoccupied but the other was obviously lived in.

The suspicious lack of sleeping person in it concerned Rhiannon. She crept down the stairs and found that the whole third floor was filled with laboratories and workshops of one sort or another. She could tell which ones Bruce liked to work in and spent some time examining the room from a very comfortable arm chair in the corner.

Had she been less inclined to explore the house further, she would have fallen asleep in the chair. She vowed to go back to it later and continued her exploration. She found the large gym in the basement and the menagerie of rec rooms, kitchens, and living rooms that were spread out on the second floor. She wasn't very inclined to play games or watch television so she started opening doors in the first floor.

Most of it was simple office space with a nice piano room and a few reception areas outside the grand entrance hall. She was about to turn back to the comfy arm chair in the lab when she found a less conspicuous door near Miss. Pott's office.

Upon opening the small wooden door, the air literally whooshed out of her lungs, leaving her breathless and faint. There was barely any pressure, but the knife at her side was such a shock that she couldn't react. Generally, she sensed people before they could sneak up on her.

When she got a look at the black uniform and military dog tags, her instincts kicked in. Her eyes flashed green and locked on the grey luminescence of Clint Barton's sharp irises. "Stop." She ordered, feeling the energy drain from a nearby potted plant.

Clint panicked when his body obeyed; she could see what Loki had done to him and felt the fear that would never see the surface. The idea of being unmade again made him desperate and angry and panicked in the way most people feel in the face of death.

She felt her heart tighten and felt bad for intruding on his private thoughts and fears. She promptly released him, forgetting that he would probably kill her. "I'm sorry," she choked out, the lump in her throat making it difficult to talk. She stumbled back slightly, recoiling from his mind before he had regained control completely. She blinked a few times as her eyes went back to being silver.

He stared at her coldly, still afraid to test his limbs. "Who are you?" His eyes screamed anger while still maintaining the killer's calm prowess, trained and toned.

"Rhiannon." She answered reluctantly. She didn't know how much Bruce intended to tell his team.

To her surprise, Clint relaxed a little bit. "Oh. You're the girl Tony was tracking down. He said you didn't have a name though." He smiled a little bit before it slipped. "What did you just do?" His eyebrows furrowed and his defensive posture returned causing her to flinch visibly.

She sighed and straightened her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I saw your dog tags so I just assumed. I didn't mean to invade your privacy; I wouldn't have if I hadn't thought you were a threat." She let her remorse show on her face and tried not to let his suspicious gaze bother her.

"So you were in my head?"

She gave him an apologetic look and bit her lip to keep from saying anything stupid, like "I'm really sorry Loki high jacked your brain like that. I promise not to do that. Although I probably could; actually, I kind of just did. I totally wouldn't do it again though."

He didn't respond; he seemed to be struggling to find some response, some threat that would accurately portray the pain she would undergo if she ever did it again. She didn't need to be told though; she knew exactly how secretive he was.

"Welcome to the mansion," he said stiffly before walking back into the room he had come from, which she ascertained was the security room.

She didn't bother responding. She made her way back to the lab where she collapsed into the comfy arm chair, utter exhaustion making her limbs heavy and achy. She fell asleep with thoughts of how hard being around people was going to be as her bedtime stories.


	5. Chapter 5

The Hulk was a very fast learner. Rhiannon thought it would be beneficial to teach him proper English and, after only three hours, he was already taking part in an understandable conversation. She marveled at him as she sat cross legged in front of his lumbering form.

"You are way too good at this." She chuckled at him, letting him see her smile. He seemed to respond to facial expressions most; if you had a happy smile he would give you one in exchange. Unfortunately, not many people take the time to smile at a raging, green monster. The avengers had to an extent, which was why the Hulk was so attached to them.

"Hulk want food." He plopped down on the ground in front of her, causing the ground of the courtyard to shake slightly. Rhiannon had dragged Bruce out there four hours previous and had spent all that time letting him see how the Hulk could operate without destroying things. He seemed to have accepted this, at least. He was still struggling with the fact that the Hulk could learn and love as well.

_What? Does he need food? I didn't think he ate anything. He could react to badly to certain kinds of food because of the radiation… _

Bruce continued to prattle off scientific solutions to the Hulk's hunger while Rhiannon just shook her head and pulled a bag of marshmallows out of her bag. She threw one up and hit the Hulk in the chest with it. He caught it and stared at the tiny thing before giving Rhiannon a befuddled look.

She took another one out of the bag and popped it in her mouth, prompting him to do the same. They ate the rest of the marshmallows with childish glee while Bruce chuckled in the background.

Transformations were hard. The pain and the emotional trauma made it something that both the Hulk and Bruce tried to avoid. Rhiannon had been pondering a way to make this less difficult for some time but still hadn't found a solution. They had managed it flawlessly when Bruce was drunk; neither had been in too much pain, and the transformation hadn't been a desperate break for freedom like it normally was for the Hulk.

"If you just let go, it'll be seamless." Rhiannon coaxed the Hulk who had decided to run a few laps before their training session was over. "It won't hurt. You guys just need to coordinate your efforts."

_The transformation back never hurts as much; I think Hulk is better at that part than I am. _Bruce piped in from the back of the Hulks mind. Usually, he wouldn't be so aware while the Hulk was in control, but Rhiannon had been able to keep him in the loop a bit more.

The Hulk nodded a little bit and smiled at Rhiannon before he began to shrink, slowly but gracefully returning back to Bruce size.

When Bruce was back to normal size he noticed Rhiannon's shocked expression. "What's wrong?"

"He heard you! He can hear you while you're speaking at the back of his mind. Do you realize what that means? You can actually work like a team. Now that he's learning to talk, you'll be able to hear him and you guys can work out when and if you want to change. The better suited half always has control." Rhiannon felt excitement and adrenaline creep into her chest as she shifted through possibilities. Bruce could finally be happy if he had a partner rather than a competitor.

"Well, I always knew that; he's always roaring at the back of my mind." Bruce stood clutching his stretched out sweats and scratching his head. He would learn to share eventually.

Rhiannon dismissed that and surveyed the courtyard. She let out a sad sigh as she saw the three trees she'd killed during her exploits.

"How does it work?" Bruce asked, eying her curiously. He had been puzzling of her power ever since Vietnam.

"ATP. My body is using more of it than I can produce to keep radiation sated. Every time I tap into it, I have to draw the energy from outside sources, like people or trees. It can be volatile though, sometimes I don't get a say in who it comes from." She stared off into space with a blank expression, obviously lost in thought.

"I might be able to help with that. If this is working on a molecular level, then there's a chance I create an alternative energy source for you." His mind was whirring so fast that Rhiannon could almost hear it. "I'm going to get Tony. I'll see you at dinner." Rhiannon watched with a critical expression as he waddled back into the house.

Rhiannon didn't have an easy time making friends at the mansion. As soon as she entered the kitchen, all the chatter died down and she was given glares by Barton and the red-head, whose name she still didn't know. The long blond one was the only one who didn't eye her with suspicion.

"Good morrow, fair maiden. I am Thor." He walked up to her with a confident gate and wrapped her in an enormous, life-threatening hug. He set her down but kept his hands on her thin shoulders. "Welcome to our humble abode, little one. Barton has told me that you are called Rhiannon." He smiled at her joyously and clapped her on the back, sending her stumbling forward slightly. "Come, dine with us."

She sat at the bar top counter across from the other blond man, who was engrossed in a sketch book and wearing slightly old fashioned clothes. Thor sat next to her and Bruce came in to sit next to the blond, who finally looked up from his sketch book.

He gave her a polite, shy smile and put his sketch book away. "Hello, ma'am. I'm Captain Steve Rogers." He gently shook her hand just before Tony started handing out plates.

"Eat up, guys. It's not often that you get a meal cooked by the one and only Tony Stark." He smirked out at everyone as they began to eat. Barton and the red-head kept to themselves in the corner while everyone else ate. The food was really good, and Rhiannon was grateful for the silence that ensued as everyone enjoyed it. Well, almost everyone. Thor was demolishing it more than enjoying it.

Tony broke the silence. "So how did Hulk training go today, Rhi?" She stiffened as Captain Rogers and the red-head choked on their food a little bit and focused on her.

"Hulk training?" Rogers managed with alarm after he'd finished coughing up the seafood paella. Thor was the only one who was still eating.

"I- uh. It went well." She managed to say with a nonchalant glance in his direction. She turned her attention back to her fork and sent Bruce a desperate message. _Do you want me to tell them?_ She grimaced at the banana that just started to rot in the middle of the table.

A glance at Bruce told her that he was resigned to tell them. Rogers was still staring at her along with a majority of the people at the table. She popped a dainty shrimp in her mouth.

"Rhiannon was subjected to Gamma radiation by General Ross. She was the next step in the research I shut down after the incident. She is now attempting to help me control the Hulk." Bruce sat stiffly with his head held high, daring anyone to criticize him.

"Be partners with the Hulk. Not control him." She said compulsively; she adamantly refused to let Bruce subjugate the Hulk. Unfortunately, statement caught everyone's attention, and they were all staring at her again.

"General Ross experimented on you?" the red head had risen from her seat and was giving her a piercing look from behind Captain Rogers. Rhiannon reluctantly nodded her head, trying not to think about it. She was more of the live-and-let-die type.

"Well, that sucks," Barton pipes up from his corner, where he is picking at the red head's paella. She gave him a glare before turning back to Rhiannon.

"My name is Natasha Romanov."

"She probably already knows your name, Tasha. She's a mind reader, remember?" Barton looked at the scene with bitter eyes but kept his face neutral even as he looked at Rhiannon, who he believed to be a threat.

"No, I didn't know. I'm not reading anyone's mind; not unless they want me to." She put her hands forward in a gesture of surrender.

_Who said I wanted you to read my thoughts? _

"Shut up, Bruce." She fixed him with a glare as everyone stared at his smug smile.

"Well, this is going to be very interesting." Tony looked around the room with a careless smirk. "Let's all play nice and welcome Rhiannon to the Avengers."

Steve was the only one that moved. He stood and held his hand out to Rhiannon with a friendly smile. "A friend of Bruce is a friend of mine." She cautiously shook his hand and smiled back.

Bruce was kind enough to change the subject. "Do you think we could have some marshmallows for dessert?"


	6. Chapter 6

"_You really must understand my predicament, Rhiannon. I need you. Your youth makes you perfect, and you have the highest IQ in the military." Ross stares at her with soulful eyes, begging and pleading her to understand. Not that it would make a difference either way. In his mind, she has already volunteered for these trials. _

_She is hanging from the manacles around her wrist and has been for some time. Her face and other extremities are covered in blood and bruises; her arms are a jerk away from dislocating themselves. _

_She has tried to make herself accept his offer, tried to make the pain stop, but the only emotions she can summon are hate and rage. Neither fear nor understanding have a place in her heart anymore. _

_She summons the motivation to respond but only manages to spit blood at him before going limp again. She hurts everywhere. Why did she ever agree to be a military psychologist? _

"_Beckett, I am trying to make you better. You could be a legend, a super soldier; your country would honor your service more than any other." He tries to catch her eyes, to sell the idea that he is so passionate about. She finds it repulsive. _

"_I'm a psychologist! I'm not a soldier. You a monster on a diamond studded leash that will parade around doing your bidding, not a soldier. This isn't a Captain America comic; stop acting like you have some code of moral conduct or some greater evil to destroy for the good of the people. You're nuts!" She spits at him, jerking violently and swinging slightly in the air. She gulps in air rapidly, feeling the strain in her arms and the absolute agony in her back. _

_The general sighs. "Fine. I didn't want it to come to this, Beckett." He pulls out a phone and looks at her pointedly as he speaks into it. "Lieutenant, bring me the Beckett family. I'm afraid we're out of bargaining chips." _

_Utter panic begins to fill her body like water, threatening to drown her; it seeps over and begins to fill the room as she stares at Ross in shock. She can feel the threat hanging in the air. It was a poisonous gas, and she had no oxygen left._

"_Stop. I'll do it. Just… stop." She slumps and feels tears well in her eyes. They take her down from where she is suspended and bring her to an examination room. They have to drag her in between two soldiers because she is completely limp. One of the doctors thinks she's catatonic. _

_They clean her up and strap her to a table; a large machine hovers over her head and rotates slowly. Fear found its place with her once again. _

_One last doctor comes up and tapes her eyes open before stepping out of the pristine white room. The machine whirrs and two beams of high density radiation find their way into her retinas. _

_The screaming doesn't do the pain justice as the liquid fire and glass shards rip through her brain and body. It takes her one limb at a time, shredding her from the inside out and then consuming her completely. Her entire body is filled with green fire before they finally, mercifully, turn the machine off. _

_She thinks the worse is over, but they prove her wrong. Thousands of needles: each in a different area of her head, each penetrating bone and meninges to pierce her sensitive mind. _

_By the end of the short four hours she is completely unresponsive; she simply refuses to move. The memory of the pain was enough to keep her eyes glued shut and her jaw clenched. They weren't very patient to get their results. _

_As she slips in and out of consciousness, she hears Ross barking out orders. "If she doesn't perform some miracle in the next ten minutes kill her. Just shoot excessively and blame it on some private you don't like. He went nuts and committed suicide after. That's an order." She hears him stomp out. _

_Ten minutes come and go. The doctors sigh as they stare into her unresponsive eyes, mourning their experiment. They lift her off the bed, and the bullets come before her feet are even on the ground. She is acutely aware of each bullet ripping through skin and organ, but she doesn't open her eyes. She falls on the ground: dead, gone, no longer living. _

_Or so they think. _

_Her mind begs to differ. _

_Every single one of their lives become hers; every word, every thought, every prayer, she hears and feels before their desiccated bodies fall on the ground. She doesn't feel the General anywhere on the boat. _

_She feels her family. _

_She feels her best friend, Martha. _

_She opens her eyes and struggles to her feet, finding the bodies of the hundreds she'd killed with a thought. Worse than that, she'd killed then with a need. Her brother's face looks up at her from the ground as she searched the ship, never leaving her sight, forever ingrained in her brain. _

"Rhiannon, WAKE UP!" She was violently shaken from her sleep, and felt her head collide with something before he eyes could accurately tell her what was happening. The panic didn't fade for a few minutes. She just laid in her bed, clutching whoever it was that had woken her, trying desperately to drown the sound of her sobs in their chest.

She got a hold of herself and managed extricate herself form the wet, hugging mess that she had managed to get herself into. She looked up and saw the very concerned brown eyes of Bruce Banner.

"Hi." She managed as she tried to catch her breath and sit up in bed. He just shook his head at her and wrapped his arms around her stomach, forcing her to stay in bed and relax against his chest.

"Hi," he muttered back before they both fell asleep again.

The next morning, Rhiannon found she had a lot of explaining to do. Apparently, dreams weren't private anymore and every single person in the Avengers household had been privy to her nightmare.

She glared venomously at her own hands, silently wishing that she could just die and not have to talk about this with anyone. Ever. She just wanted the whole incident to fade away and never bother her again.

She pushed away her childish denials and faced the group of people sitting around the table. Clint was glaring at her with a surplus of anger while Natasha seemed to be stuck between anger, understanding, and sympathy. Steve seemed more inclined to forget it all happened; he probably had similar nightmares about his past and wouldn't want them to be broadcast that way. Tony was nursing a large cup of scotch, obviously trying not to relive his own captivity. Thor seemed the least stoic, staring at Rhiannon with an unmasked awe that confused her more than anything. Bruce was sitting beside her in an attempt to comfort her, to keep her steady.

"Sorry," she managed lamely. She wasn't quite sure what to say.

"That's woefully inadequate for what I just experienced." Clint ground his teeth together and continued to glare, earning himself a painful looking punch from Natasha.

"She experienced it too, you moron," She hissed at him under her breath.

"He means the whole commandeering his mind thing, which I am truly sorry about. I've only had this… power for ten years; I'm still not quite sure how to control it all the time." She winced at the shocked expressions that flew her way.

"Ten years? You mean you don't age?" Steve gave her a penetrating stare.

She shook her head no. There was an awkward silence.

"Sometimes I feel like the only person here who will get to be old," Tony stared down at his glass as he covertly tried to lighten the mood.

Thor shook his head at Tony before turning his attention back to Rhiannon. "In Asgard, there were those who were gifted in similar ways; they shared their dreams with minds of similar fortitude. A simple remedy of herbs was used to prevent the event; I can procure some if it would suit thou."

"Could someone translate that for me?" Tony glared at Thor angrily.

"Yes, please. Thank you, Thor." Rhiannon smiled at him sheepishly, before slipping out of the room to hide in her favorite arm chair.

Bruce looked around the room with a penetrating gaze. "So much as mention this again, and I will rip you into several pieces and eat you."


	7. Chapter 7

Bruce wasn't normally a protective person, but, then, he hadn't had anyone to be protective of for some time. He found that letting people take care of themselves made it easier for them to relax around him; they never felt like they owed Bruce anything for taking care of them. He was always there for his friends though; at least, he was before the incident.

The Hulk, however, was the most protective person (creature-monster-thing) Bruce had ever met. Since Rhiannon had taught him how to vocalize, he would get a little quip or comment from the part of his mind that held the Hulk.

The morning that he woke up from Rhiannon's dream had been full of Hulk's commentary. Things like, "Crush Ross," and "Smash scientists." As he stood staring out at the avengers that sat around the table, he could feel the Hulk's protective nature seeping out of that dark corner of his mind. He could almost feel the emerald glow in his eyes as the Hulk's words came out of his mouth.

"So much as mention this again, and I will rip you into several pieces and eat you." He walked out of the room in a bit of a daze. It was odd, having the Hulk contribute to his life in a less destructive way. That they had actually agreed enough for the Hulk to be able to speak through him was astounding to say the least.

What was even odder was that he was having conversations with him. Mostly, they were just emotions or pictures, rather than words; the meanings, however, were clear and easy to translate. Bruce couldn't help but marvel at how calm Rhiannon was able to make him. Words sometimes drifted from the back of his mind though, letting him know that the Hulk wanted something or that he felt he could aid the situation.

When he had been struggling to wake Rhiannon up, Hulk had even lent Bruce some strength to hold her down. He had felt disgusting, having to restrain her the way he did. She had been writhing, scratching at herself, and thrashing about in a painful looking way. What was worse was that she was so much stronger than Bruce; the radiation had certainly changed her physically, but he hadn't realized until that moment how strong she really was. If the Hulk hadn't been just as concerned for Rhiannon as he was, she probably would have just thrown him off.

The Hulk was definitely more aggressive than Bruce; his primary reaction to the dream was to destroy everything in the room and then go find Ross so he could slowly and painfully remove all of his extremities. Bruce was overjoyed at how the Hulk had stopped the transformation to listen to Bruce's panicked need to comfort Rhiannon. He had marveled at the Hulks wordless and begrudging acceptance of Bruce's request.

He felt a sort of kinship with the Hulk, even if they had only been working together for two days. Although violent and childish, the Hulk really only wanted to be accepted; he would never admit that though.

Bruce was knocked out of his stupor when he walked into his lab and found Rhiannon in his favorite armchair sketching. She seemed remarkably unaffected by everything; she had an unparalleled ability to move past things that would destroy a normal person. Maybe that was one of the perks of being a shrink.

Or maybe she was just a really good actress.

"What are you drawing?" Bruce walked forward with a surprisingly confident gait. He was frequently caught off guard those past few days by how easy it was to walk around without the roaring in his head. Not that the Hulk was always quiet; he just roared less often.

"Hulk," She answered in a distracted voice. Looking over her shoulder, he saw that she was a decent artist, though not the best he's seen. Steve had done better renditions of the Hulk before.

That train of thought was cut off by a proud huff from the Hulk. He was pleased that she was drawing him. "He likes it." Bruce put a comforting hand on Rhiannon's shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he headed over to his work desk.

Bruce didn't resurface from his work for six hours after that. He yawned loudly, surprised by how tiring science could be sometimes. He noticed the Rhiannon was still in the corner of his lab, immersed in a book rather than her drawings. He didn't often tolerate people in his lab, mostly because they demanded that he give them the attention that would be better served by his work. Rhiannon, however, was completely silent and did not require any sort of conversation to entertain herself.

She most likely didn't want to leave the lab for fear of having to make conversation with the other avengers. She was very uncomfortable around them, unfortunately. He wanted nothing more than for her to make a home for herself there; so she would have an excuse to stay after their training was over.

Every time he thought about the conclusion of their lessons, the Hulk threw a fit. He genuinely liked Rhiannon and refused to entertain thoughts of her departure. Even after only two days, they agreed she was incredible.

Bruce noticed things like how she would furrow her brow when she read a confusing passage in a book and how, when she drew, her eyes would dance over the markings with single minded intensity. The Hulk mostly admired her smile, a thing of true beauty in his eyes despite the fact that it was a little crooked and not quite happy all the time. He also noticed how, when she used her power, he shoulders would straighten out and her face would harden, making her look more like a warrior than a psychologist.

They both agreed that the little things were the most intriguing. They also agreed that getting close to people was dangerous.

"You know, staring is really rude."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Greetings and salutations. This chapter took a little longer, because I had other things I had to be doing. Shocker of shockers, I suddenly have a life. Anywhore, hopefully I'll knock out a few more chapters before the day ends and there won't be too many spelling errors. Again, PLEASE GIVE ME CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM. I can take it, I promise. Thanks a bunch. ~ CWA**_

It was a perfectly normal reaction, after everything she'd been through, for Rhiannon to be nervous around scientists. The white lab coats and expensive equipment made her cringe; though, she took pride in the fact that no one would be able to tell that it bothered her. While Bruce worked, she studied him, watched his single-minded concentration and competent hands.

She thought that he would notice her staring, but he was too engrossed in his work to pay any attention. In a way, she admired that trait; he simply drowned out the world and focused on the task at hand. She knew that the Hulk hated it; he wanted to be outside, running and exerting himself. They really couldn't be more different.

After a while, she stopped watching him and focused on a book she'd found in Tony's extensive library. She enjoyed reading books that had no intellectual value at all; it helped keep her mind off things and made time go by faster.

Around half way through the fluffy romance novel, she noticed the Bruce had stopped working and was staring at her shamelessly. "It's rude to stare you know."

Bruce seemed shocked that she noticed. "Are you reading my mind again?" He was puzzled as to how she'd known. He didn't have a problem with her hearing his thoughts most of the time; he just liked a little warning.

She sighed, her nose still buried in the book. "No. You stopped moving. I don't have to be in your head to notice that you're not working." It aggravated her that it was so easy for everyone to assume she was invading their privacy all the time.

"Oh." He shrugged slightly and stood, stretching briefly before heading over to the arm chair. He held a hand out to Rhiannon as he said, "we'd better go get some food." She was grateful for the hand, because her legs had fallen asleep.

They made their way down to the kitchen in awkward silence. Rhiannon was anxious outside of the lab, expecting to run into one of the others. She lagged behind Bruce slightly, hoping to have an early warning should they run into someone.

She didn't anticipate him stopping dead in the doorway of the kitchen and ran into his back. She gave a little "oof" and began to ask what was wrong when she noticed the stiffness in his shoulders and the tell tale tremble in his hands. She cautiously peaked around him and saw a tall, serious looking man with an eye patch leaning against the kitchen counter.

Looking at it from his point of view, she could see it being almost comical. The way she peered under Bruce's arm and the puzzled look on her face must have seemed like the actions of a little girl. However, her comical appearance did not portray the calculations in her eyes and controlled fear in her stomach. She had her escape plan solid in her mind as she carefully stepped around Bruce, much to his dismay.

"Hello." She greeted him casually and went straight for the coffee pot, where she could watch the one eyed man from the corner of her eye. He watched her with silent intensity and disapproval. A slight twitch at the corner of his mouth was all she needed to see to tell her that he knew who she was.

He turned to Bruce, who was still in the doorway. "You should have told me." The man said with a reprimanding voice. "I would expect as much from Stark but not from you." His eye refocused on Rhiannon who had turned around and was watching him over the rim of her coffee mug. She felt that he was more of a threat than his menacing appearance suggested; she feared for Bruce, who was defiantly staring the man down, more than herself.

"I need her." Bruce's response was far too simple to fully express the situation, but it worked well enough. It didn't stop Rhiannon from snorting though.

"She's still in the room, Rhiannon stated as she gave him an amused smile that was carelessly covering something deeper and more dangerous. He had seen that glint in her eyes before, when she first saw him in the market.

"Noted. I think it would be best if you left." Fury turned his attentions to Rhiannon. She hated the look of distrust on his face, but it didn't show through her friendly smile.

"Thank you for asking so nicely. May I ask who you are?" She meant the thank you sincerely. Generally, people were more venomous and included more threats when they wanted her to go away.

"Nick Fury, director of SHIELD." Bruce answered for him, glaring at the director venomously. "She will not be leaving." His tone of voice worried Rhiannon. She had been ecstatic to see the Hulk and Bruce working so well together, but the calculating mind of the genius combined with the indestructible force of the mammoth could prove dangerous for the Director. The tell tale shade of green became apparent around the rims of Bruce's irises.

"Perhaps we could have this conversation in a calmer setting so all three of us can get a word in." Fury had clearly picked up on the green in Bruce's eyes. Rhiannon could practically smell his fear although his face had it solidly under control.

"Four." Rhiannon met Fury's eyes as he looked at her with frustrated confusion.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that the invisible man was party to this argument." The venom in Fury's eye was almost enough to scare Rhiannon. Almost.

"You forgot to include the Hulk. He probably has a few things to say too." Rhiannon kept an amused smile on her face even as she plotted ways that she could kill this man. She hated the secrets that hid in his black trench coat.

She mentally slapped herself for being so violent. Now was no time to lose her cool.

"He doesn't want her to leave. She keeps him calm, keeps him happy. He likes her smile and still has a lot of learning to do about the English language." Bruce stared at nothing as he translated for the Hulk who could practically be seen in the recessed of Bruce's calm eyes.

"You taught the Hulk how to talk." Fury was staring at Rhiannon with his mouth slightly ajar. "You're telling me that the mindless rage-monster has _feelings_?"

Rhiannon smiled proudly at Bruce, a gentleness that had been missing moments before returning to her face. "Yup. However, if you still want to make a mess of things, I can run, and you can tell Ross that you just couldn't catch me." She stared into his eye, daring him to contradict her, to tell her she was wrong.

"Ross?" The growl behind Bruce's voice made Fury jumpy.

"Ross had no files or documents on the second experiments. The research died with the scientist that experimented on me. The only way that the Director could know of my existence is if Ross told him personally. Isn't that right, director?" She smiled sweetly at him, internally cursing herself for being so rash and threatening. She could get out of this without hurting anyone.

"Yes, that is correct. I came here to tell you that Ross has every intention of trying to take you from the Avengers. I thought it would be in your best interests to leave although I would give my good eye to have you as part of the response team. If you've made a home for yourself here, then it will be very hard for Ross to take you." Rhiannon hesitated at that. She should leave. As much as she loved the accommodations and having someone to be friends with, she really hadn't made a home here. Everyone but Bruce hated her.

"Thank you, Director." Bruce gave Fury a look that was clearly a dismissal, much to the director's dismay. He gave an angry huff and left the mansion.

"Bruce, I shouldn't stay." She kept a neutral face despite the misery brewing in her stomach. She didn't want to leave.

The look Bruce gave her was more than enough to break her resolve. Even worse was the sad whimper that made its way into her head from the Hulk. "I need you to stay." Bruce beseeched her with his eyes.

"You can't say no to that face. It's just not humane. Not even I could refuse that face." Tony walked past her soundlessly, catching her by surprise. She chuckled a little as she realized he'd been there the whole time.

Agent Romanov came in next. "I don't know. She didn't cower from Fury's scary face; maybe she is immune to that sort of thing." They stood next to each other, leaning up against the counter. Barton seemed to appear out of nowhere next to Romanov, holding two cups of coffee.

"I hope not. I was hoping to be able to use my get-the-fuck-away-from-me face. I love the reaction that thing gets me." He leaned up next to Agent Romanov.

"That doesn't work on any of us, Barton. I'm more curious to see if she can resist Cap's blue eyed, innocent doe look. Well, it's more of a constant state of being." Tony smirked at Captain Rogers, who Rhiannon had just noticed leaning in the doorway.

"Aye. The honorable Captain's innocent cadence is most alluring; is it common among Midgardian women to be susceptible to such expressions?" Thor's booming voice could be heard before he even really entered the room. Tony looked around with a satisfied smirk.

"It looks like the whole gang's here. Does this mean we all like Rhiannon now?" He stared at Romanov with a smug question playing at his lips. Most likely he'd just won some argument.

Barton snorted as he took a swig from his coffee cup. "I liked her before."


	9. Chapter 9

Rhiannon was ecstatic to find that the tea worked. She woke the next morning without having to be restrained by Bruce or any of the other avengers. She even felt well rested, which was a very uncommon occurrence. She rose in one fluid movement and went about her morning routine; it had changed some since Vietnam, but it was still simple and comforting.

She was in the midst of pulling a t-shirt over an emaciated abdomen when Tony burst in the room. His eyes were wild and his hands were shaking as he stared at her without really seeing her.

"Please tell me that that was some sick joke of yours." She was too shocked to answer, trying to find an answer in his crazed, milk-chocolate eyes. "Just tell me it was you, please?" He faltered slightly seeming confused and scared, though he tried to hide it.

She decided that this was urgent enough to check into herself. She took a steadying breath and let her tendrils drift into Tony's head, watching the dream he was so worked up about. There was a man that Tony called Loki controlling the dream; this was dangerous in itself. Rhiannon had tried controlling dreams once and it tended to cause major damage to one's psyche.

The man had been pulling out Tony's fears through the dream, using the dream to ensnare and weaken him. An anger that she didn't quite understand boiled in her stomach as she watched Loki torture Tony.

She could feel the man's presence lingering in Tony's mind. She closed her eyes and felt a sort of claw still clinging to him; she followed it and found the man from the dream lingering in the court yard, gathering himself after using the magic (Rhiannon stopped at that; he used magic?) to take over Tony's mind in the dream.

His mind was dark and filled with pain but the distance made her connection weak. Anger powered her legs as she hurried out of the room. She opened her eyes as she started descending the stairs, narrowly avoiding Bruce who had been walking toward her. Tony followed close behind, confused but intrigued.

She brushed past Bruce and ran down the stairs. Her sense of urgency was too prominent to stop and explain. She opened the doors to the court yard and strolled out into the glorious morning sunlight. She stopped momentarily to steady herself and concentrated on the feeling of the cobblestones against her bare feet and the cool breeze ruffling her pajama shorts.

She felt like hound dog on the hunt, following the strings of that single green claw. Magic or not, the man couldn't hide his signature very well. She followed the trail with her eyes but saw nothing. Thankfully, she could see his mind, hear his demented thoughts; she didn't need to see him with her eyes. She followed the trail until she stood in front of the man, feeling rather than seeing him.

"Who are you?" Her voice sounded off, as it always did when her power was revealed in full. It had power imbued in every word, demanding the truth in the same way her eyes demanded attention.

The man stared with fear and confusion: _How can you see me? What are you? Why can't I move? I am a god; you cannot command me!_ There was a madness in him that Rhiannon feared; she stayed as far from his mind as she could as she learned his name, his plan, and his past.

"Loki Odinson." She breathed, her voice still felt powerful to her ears. His illusion shattered with his shock. She was preoccupied by the pain that was radiating from Loki's mind; she could feel his madness in every tainted memory and though. She felt the pain surface on her face, knew that he could see it, but couldn't pull away or open her eyes.

Tony, who stood behind Rhiannon, adopted a smug smirk when he saw Loki trapped in Rhiannon's snare. "I knew having you here was a good idea."

"What are you?" Loki spat at her, bitter anger spilling from his voice. Her eyes snapped open, fiery green meeting mad emeralds in a battle of wills. She eased her hold ever so slightly, trying to distance herself from the pain. She opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the thunderous roar of the Hulk. His furious cry broke her concentration, replacing it with worried thoughts of Bruce and the Hulk's wellbeing. Loki didn't waste the opportunity.

He was strong for a skinny guy, and fast as well. The knife appeared quicker than her eyes could track it and went in deeper than she had anticipated. The air left her with a whoosh, and she had to struggle not to fall over.

Loki disappeared before she could retaliate.

_Bastard. _

Bruce was by her side in an instant, helping her to the ground so he could examine the wound. She wasn't worried; her body was already taking the liberty of healing it. She could feel the energy of a nearby tree waning away slowly, much to her dismay. She had liked that tree.

She focused on beating away the pain, the madness that had crept through the channel she'd opened with Loki. She felt desolate and hollow just by looking at his memories; she couldn't imagine living that life. She felt a lump in her throat and pressure in her eyes that she had to fight as well. This was why she hated doing that; empathy would most definitely be the death of her.

By the time Bruce had the knife out of her stomach, most of the internal damage was gone and the bleeding was slowing. She sighed, focusing on how awkward explaining that was going to be rather than the lingering psychosis.

She had to really focus to understand the words coming out of the doctors mouth. She stared at his lips, desperately trying to make her ears work. Her mind was far too preoccupied to translate his words without putting some effort into it.

"Rhiannon! Damn it, look at me! You're going to hurt Tony permanently if you don't stop." Her heart seized as she realized the tree wasn't the only energy she was using. She instantly clamped down on her mind, stopping the hungry voice that wanted the pain to stop despite who was hurt in the process. She stopped the healing altogether and focused on breathing for a moment before she started to give the energy back. She had done it once before, but it usually cost too much.

She didn't really care this time. She didn't want to hurt anyone.

Although, her own madness wasn't entirely adverse to it.

Rhiannon heard conversation to her right and turned her head, focusing on Tony who was slowly standing back up. She held her breath until the edges of her vision are going black; she didn't have enough brain power to do both. By the time she was done, he was next to her shaking his head and telling her to stop.

"Jesus Christ, Rhiannon. I'm good. You can stop." She smiled a little, feeling better now that she knew no one was hurt. She shifted slightly and hissed when she felt that her wound had worsened slightly.

"Ow." She mumbled grumpily, trying to focus on the tree again. Bruce hovered over her with an angry and concerned expression.

"I told you to stop, not to give it back. You could have hurt yourself more," he scolded. She could see the Hulk practically pacing behind Bruce's eyes.

She was momentarily perturbed by a flash of Loki's memories. She tensed and focused on healing herself rather than looking at the blackness.

Her stomach closed up slowly and with one last push of effort, she sat up. The new skin stretched and protested angrily, but she didn't want them to think she couldn't handle something as simple as that. If they knew how trying the whole thing was, they'd never let her do anything.

"I'm all good." Her voice sounded hollow now that it wasn't ringing with power. She stood, stubbornly ignoring the tell tale signs of exhaustion and fatigue. She waved off Bruce's worried attempts to help her and started for the house. "Did you tell Thor that his brother escaped from the Asgardian super prison thing?" She casually walked into the house, fighting the dizziness and nausea.

"Yes, I have been informed." Thor appeared in the doorway with a forlorn scowl. "I am glad that you have recovered so swiftly, little one. I apologize for my brother's offense."

"No problem. Your brother needs serious psychiatric care." She informed the god of thunder seriously. She wasn't entirely sure that it would help him though. She was probably the only person on earth or any other planet that fully understood the depth of Loki's insanity. She felt the thrum of pain from the memories wash over her again.

"We knew that," Tony quipped carelessly. "I'm glad Banner and I weren't the only ones who could smell the crazy on him."

"Did you see into his mind? Can he be helped?" Thor's eyes rang with sadness and worry; they asked for the only real answer he needed, though Rhiannon wasn't sure she could give it to him.

"His madness was too strong for me to handle; had I not been afraid to let it in, the Hulk would not have been able to distract me enough to break my hold on him. He lost a majority of his sanity when he fell." Rhiannon struggled with the pain and madness that stemmed from that memory. As everyone watched her gaze became hollow, and she swayed slightly. "Lost to the dark."

"When he fell from the rainbow bridge?" Thor came closer and shook her shoulders, pleading her to tell him more. "Little one?"

Her eyes focused on him, but they still weren't quite normal. "He still loves you. Much more than he thinks he should. He's trying to get you to help him."

Tony made a very frustrated flapping movement with his arms. "Wait. So his attempts to take over the world are just a cry for attention?"

Rhiannon chuckled slightly, blocking the horror of Loki's memories from her mind. She looked over at Bruce, who was still staring at her with fear and concern.

"Hey, Bruce. I don't know if you noticed, but you're naked."


	10. Chapter 10

Rhiannon wasn't a shy person by nature, but she had enough tact to pretend she was modest. She may have even blushed and turned around to respect his privacy had she not been so exhausted. Instead she just stared. Shamelessly.

"Oh. Um." Bruce blushed and hid behind a conveniently placed counter. He smiled shyly and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't really shy either- he'd been naked in public enough times due to the Hulk- but something about Rhiannon's appraisal was unnerving.

Not necessarily in a bad way but still.

"Awkward." Tony chuckled, looking between the two with yet another smirk.

"Does your face know no other expression?" Rhiannon couldn't believe that he was unshaken by the encounter. It wasn't like anyone there would hurt him so why did he insist on hiding? Annoyed by the lack of trust, she shook her head and started up the stairs toward her room. Exhaustion made her grumpy.

"Rhiannon, I'd like to run some tests to make sure you're alright." Bruce looked at her with a heart wrenching look from behind his counter. She faltered, hating the idea of tests but unwilling to worry Bruce more. She felt herself sway a little with fatigue and had to tighten her grip on the hand rail until her knuckles were white.

"You'll have to carry me then, Doc. I'm about to fall over here." She smiled weakly at him. She wished she could get away with making them think she was unaffected.

"Are you in need of assistance, Little one?" Thor moved forward quickly, ready to catch her if she fell. She just smiled at his gratefully and shook her head.

"I'm fine. I just don't think I'll be able to stay awake long enough to run many tests." Rhiannon refused to look at Bruce's knowing expression. It bothered her that he was able to see through the excuse.

"Let me help you to your room." Bruce grabbed a curtain and ripped it from its pole to turn into a toga. Rhiannon laughed at the absolute horror on Tony's face and gratefully accepted the help.

Bruce was quiet as he helped her down the long hallway. He only stepped in when needed and didn't try to steer or move her, which she appreciated greatly. She was very attached to being able to walk on her own.

"Is this going to be a problem later on?" Bruce was carefully studying the carpet outside of her room when he finally asked the question that had been hanging in his eyes.

She gave him a questioning look.

"What you saw today in Loki. Is it going to be a problem?" He was too smart for his own good. She studied his eyes as he studied hers.

She sighed when she realized she couldn't say no. "I'm not sure. I've never dealt with this kind of crazy. The guy reeked of pain, and I can't say I didn't take any with me. I think I'll be okay though. I didn't delve deep enough into him for it to rub off on me much." She clung to the hope that she could forget it.

"Can I stay with you?" The question seemed to burst from the doctor's lips without his permission. He blushed and quickly tried to cover for it. "I mean if you- I just- and you-"  
She laughed and he stopped talking, blushing deep red. She nodded and opened the door. She was asleep in minutes while he acted as a guard against the nightmares.

Rhiannon woke with a hang over, and she knew it was going to be a bad day. Hangovers always made her self-control shaky, and she had a terrible temper. She groaned and rolled out of bed, literally falling on the floor on all fours to crawl to the bathroom.

She sat in front of the bathtub for an hour debating whether or not it would be worth the carnage to go to the kitchen. She needed Advil and food or she'd never feel better. Praying no one was in the kitchen, she shakily started for the door.

It turned out that _everyone_ was in the kitchen, so she decided that acting as miserable as possible would most likely keep them off her back. She shuffled into the kitchen in her pajamas and literally fell into a chair; unfortunately, she didn't have to act at all. She stole a cup of coffee from whoever had left theirs on the counter in front of her. Taking a sip, she tasted that it was Bruce's; he was the only one who liked cinnamon in his coffee.

"Rhiannon, you look like someone hit you with a truck." Tony fearlessly spoke for the group who had stopped to watch her carefully.

The glare that hit him seconds later made him flinch visibly. "It's probably in your best interests to be very far away from me right now."

Clint clapped cheerily and rubbed his hands together. "Well, I think we all know that feeling. It is time to evacuate the kitchen." He ushered everyone out, including a reluctant Thor, who was confused by the situation. Thankfully, even Natasha seemed to know it was time to retreat.

Bruce stayed, casually leaning against a counter with his nose in a newspaper. He peered over the top with an amused smile. Rhiannon cursed the awful, awful kitchen lights that were so heinously reflecting off his spectacles. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Someone has a killer hangover and doesn't appreciate being taunted." She only barely managed to keep the malice out of her voice. She cursed her lack of self-control and tried to focus on the spice in her coffee. _Calm and happy, calm and happy, calm and happy. _

"I wasn't aware that you had been drinking." He smirked at her, in an unusually good mood.

She just glared at him in response. _He's just trying to lighten your mood, stop being so grumpy. You're acting like a comic book character. _

He chuckled slightly and went to the fridge, pulling out some breakfast food and putting it in the microwave. After an obnoxiously loud beep, a steaming plate of eggs and bacon was placed in front of her with a glass of water and a bottle of Advil.

She looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "Bless you."

He chuckled and resumed his place at the table. "I get them too, after Hulking out. I haven't really had a bad one since you've been here, but I remember the first few times, I genuinely thought I was going to die."

Rhiannon chuckled too, grateful that her murderous mood swings weren't as bad that day. "Do you have homicidal mood swings as well?"

He stared at her intently for a moment before answering. "That was more of his gig than mine. I've been wondering about that though."

She cocked her head to one side rather than ask the question out loud.

"Why did the radiation crack my personality, but didn't do the same for you?" the question caught her off guard so she just stared at him while she struggled for an answer. "Maybe it did, and you're just not telling me?" She hated that knowing look. How did he know? She agonized over it for a moment before realizing that her mood swing was back.

She held back a menagerie of vicious comments and struggled to compose herself. When she was relatively calm, she met Bruce's eyes with a hint of a challenge. "I don't have an alternate personality."

"But you have something. You don't have to hide; we've all got our problems." Bruce tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"I've got a lid on it so it doesn't matter."

"I'm just trying to help."

"I know that." This was turning into a shouting match faster than she felt comfortable.

"So what's the problem?"

"I can't argue with you; I'm just going to get angry-" Bruce cut her off by pushing her out of her chair and forcing her into a corner, green rimming her eyes.

"Then be angry."

She wasn't sure who started the fight first, but it didn't take them long to destroy the entire kitchen. The Hulk was lending him strength and she couldn't muster the self-control to use her power so they were evenly matched.

She found that infuriating.

Over the fighting, she could hear Bruce yelling at her to just _tell _him already. She could also hear the other avengers talking from just outside the kitchen. Clint seemed to be taking bets.

_Just tell me._

_Rhiannon, trust me. _

_Tell me. _

"Fine!" She leapt away with a little less grace than she would have liked, taking a moment to observe the destruction they had caused. Her lip was bleeding and she could feel bruises forming on her arms and ribs. Bruce's nose was bleeding and he seemed to have some bruises too, but nothing terrible.

She glared at the heads of the avengers that poked around the corner. Tony's eyes widened under her gaze, and he ushered the others far away from the door.

"I'm not stable. There's always a voice in the back of my head that _wants _to hurt people, that wants to use my power to violate people and humiliate them." She stopped, choking on her words. She could feel it now, stirring, urging her to continue the fight. She felt her control slipping and before she knew it there was a tear streaming down her cheek.

Then Bruce was hugging her. "See, that wasn't so bad. Violence and tears are the best way to get rid of anger." He would know.

She pulled back, aghast. "You started that on purpose?"

He just smiled with an amused sparkle in his eye. "Revenge is sweet."

She laughed threw her tears and let him lead her back to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Alrighty! So I've decided I'm going to wrap this up pretty haphazardly. I can't remember where I was going with it, so I'm going to bring it to as much of a close as I can. Hopefully, it won't be too disappointing. I pretty much wrote one huge chapter and broke it up into a few littler one so… Enjoy. ~ CQA **_

_**PS more Bruce stories to come. **_

She didn't sleep well, though she couldn't recall any nightmares. She chocked it up to the head ache and the afternoon sun light streaming in through the window. She blinked a few times and felt a swell of gratitude toward the lack of throbbing in her head.

"Thank god that's over."

"No kidding." She literally fell out of bed in surprise upon finding Bruce in her bed. He chuckled at her reaction and sat up; he had been lying on top of the covers just watching her sleep.

"You- I- Oh my god, why are you here?" Rhiannon wasn't very used to waking up with people in her bed.

"You asked me to stay with you when you fell asleep. It's been about six hours now." Bruce smiled sheepishly as he rearranged his nice purple dress shirt and business pants.

She didn't remember that, but she hardly remembered anything from that morning. "Yeah, I don't remember much about this morning, and I don't really want to." Hangovers never ended well.

She noticed a bruise on his face and felt herself pale slightly. "We fought, didn't we?" She cringed at his nod.

"Sorry." She laughed nervously and scrubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"I was ok with it. Someone needed to knock some sense into you. I hate hypocrites." He smiled at her, much to her confusion. "The whole 'I'm a monster, I want to kill people' thing. You can't call yourself a monster after expending so much energy telling me that I'm not one. You're sorely mistaken if you think you're the only one hear that wants to kill people sometimes. It's the fact that we kill the right people that make us heroes."

Before she could tell him how wrong he was, there was a very loud alarm coming from the hallway. Jarvis' voice came over the intercom. "There has been an attack on New York city. The avengers have been asked to report by Director fury."

Rhiannon gave Bruce a fearful look. "It's ok, Rhi. We deal with this almost every day. We'll be right back." He gave her a reassuring smile before turning to leave.

Rhiannon felt a surprising swell of worry and fear as he turned to leave. The Hulk hadn't fought since they started working together; what if something went wrong? "Bruce!" She ran out of the room after him but he had already descended the stairs and was loping out into the New York country in Hulk form. "Shit."

She ran back to her room and put on some actual clothes before intercepting Clint in the hallway. "I'm going with you."

He gave her a look. "Are you sure that's a great idea? It was Loki that initiated the attack…"

A wide grin spread across her face. "All the more reason. C'mon." They ran down the stairs to where Natasha was waiting in the jet for them. She gave Rhiannon a questioning glance but didn't comment.

It took them a few minutes to get to the city where Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor were already doing serious damage to the robot things that Loki was commanding. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Hulk was doing even more damage to the enemy than usual and less damage to the innocent buildings.

They saw Loki perched on the corner of a very tall building smirking out at the damage. _I hate that guy. _They touched down on the ground where Captain America and a majority of the police force were working to evacuate civilians. The Captain was easily giving orders, protecting civilians, and fighting back the hordes at the same time.

From the air, the innocent citizens looks like ants, running any which direction. Most couldn't see the police or Captain directing them through the smoke. She sent a general message: _head toward the end of the street and try not to panic. You'll be safe in no time._ She was gratified to see that a majority of them listened to her, though they looked confused as to where the voice had come from.

The Captain looked up to see her carefully making her way through the wreckage. She walked slowly, leaping over wreckage and directing confused or hurt people who hadn't listened the first time. When she reached the Captain, she had blood on her shirt already, and her heart was pounding.

An explosion to their right made her jump; the captain watched as fear and adrenaline showed on her face. "You shouldn't be here Rhiannon; it's not safe." She glared at him, asserting her right to be there.

Their argument was cut off by another wave of robot creatures. She didn't have as much fighting experience as the rest of the avengers but she held her own, catching the stragglers that found their way around the captain. Her powers were pretty useless against robots though, so she hung back a little and let the Captain do his thing.

She lost herself in the thoughts of civilians surrounding her in the adjacent buildings. She found herself straying into the buildings in the most danger of collapsing, directing civilians and healing those that were terribly injured. After the fifth building, she started to feel a little strained, and stopped to take the energy from a large downed tree.

She checked in on the hulk periodically, watching for signs of struggle or fatigue. Her heart rose into her throat when he was surrounded by robots and peppered with intense fire. _Jump, Hulk. Go up. _He got the message and wasted no time coming over to her.

"Why Rhiannon here?" He spoke urgently, stopping only for a second before destroying a few more robots without even looking.

"To help you. Go kill things, dear. I'll be fine." She gave him a mischievous smile and headed back into the building to help the last straggler. The trip back into the building was difficult; the structure was a hairs breath from collapsing and she had a few floors to go before she got to the woman who was struggling not to hyperventilate under her desk.

It took her ten minutes to get there because the stair well collapsed and she had to scale the wreckage to get to the floor. She wasn't sure how they would get down, but she'd scale that mountain when she got to it.

The woman was dead when she looked under the desk, a familiar looking knife sticking out of her chest. "Mother fucker." She turned around in time to see Loki spear coming toward her chest.

There was no hesitation this time; she knew what that spear could do, and she couldn't risk being under his power. She dug her claws in and forced his arms to a stop. The spear was closer to her chest than she felt comfortable with but moving would break her concentration.

His magic and madness made it hard to hold onto him; he fought hard to break her grasp but she held on stubbornly, ignoring everything but the command to sleep. Loki's eyes started to droop despite his struggles and after ten minutes of pure agonizing battle between the two, he dropped.

The moments that followed were confusing to Rhiannon. She remembered dragging the god out of the building and she remembered watching with morbid fascination as the building collapsed, large pieces of concrete flying around and coating them with a film of dust. She remembered hand cuffs and a very unhappily imprisoned Loki.

It took her a while to realize that the world was passing by in a blur with no tangible emotions; she was suddenly hit by a wall of pain and decided that, at least for the time being, no emotion was better.

She was shaken out of her stupor by Bruce, who was staring down at her with soulful and unusually large brown eyes. "Rhiannon?" He shook her shoulders slightly as he gently called her out of herself.

"Hmm?" She looked at him in confusion, trying to figure out why he looked so scared.

"How deep did you go?" His voice wavered slightly, scaring her more than his question.

When the relevance of his question hit her, she took a minute to truly access herself. She could feel it, squirming behind a wall that she had quickly erected to preserve herself. She knew right away that she'd have to let that wall fall eventually, and it wasn't going to be pretty. For now, she thanked everything good in the world that it was there.

"I did what had to be done." The fear built in his face, and the hands on her shoulders tightened protectively. She could feel his pulse building through his skin, and idly wondered how she was going to get through this without hurting him.

That thought left as soon as it appeared as a small green explosion shook the ground under their feet. Bruce used himself as a shield against the rubble flying toward them; he didn't even have enough time to Hulk out before Loki's spear met its mark.


	12. Chapter 12

He stood, dumbfounded, as he observed the glint of metal against the stark colors of damaged flesh. Rhiannon took a moment to stare with him in horror. He fell to his knees, stills staring at the tip of the spear poking out of his chest right over his heart.

When he finally looked up at Rhiannon, she was already in action. She took the spear out quickly, blocking all pain signals from his conscious mind, and helped him lay on the ground gently. His eyes spoke of confusion and surprise while a song of sadness played in the background.

No dramatic dialogue took place. Rhiannon didn't feel the need to rush through telling him this or that about her feelings or how angry she would be if he let the Hulk die. Instead she focused on the task at hand, accessing the damage and fighting the clock. He was losing blood faster than she would be able to urge his body to replicate it. Anyone watching could see every tree on the boulevard wilt very suddenly while Rhiannon tried to stop the bleeding.

Rhiannon hated how complex the heart was; so much energy went into fixing that damage that the other tissues were left open and gaping. She heard a snicker and looked up to see Loki, weak and on his knees, watching them.

Anger couldn't describe the look on her face. All of the Avengers, who had been watching the proceedings silently, took several steps back. An unnatural fear crept its way into Loki's skin, constricting and paining him.

Rhiannon stalked up to him, anger still rolling off of her in waves. She jerkily lifted Loki off the ground and dragged him back to where Bruce lay. She gave him a piercing look and placed a hand on his neck. "You broke him, now you will fix him."

Draining the energy from a god was somewhat impossible, but she didn't mind watching him suffer. Bruce was healed in no time, but Rhiannon continued, making sure that his blood supply was replenished before stopping the process.

She threw Loki away from them and watched with satisfaction as he tried but failed to get up. Her anger ebbed as she looked down at the peaceful face of Bruce, who had passed out somewhere in between the healing of his heart and Loki's "assistance." She gently cradled his head and smoothed his curly hair.

The wall was completely gone at that point, so it wasn't surprising that she was crying silently as she waited to Bruce to wake up. No one dared intrude. The Avengers stood guard while SHIELD agents took care of the weakened lie smith.

She waited for five minutes before Bruce stirred, wakened by a warm tear that splashed on his ear. Rhiannon was hiding in the crook of his neck, letting her hair conceal her state while she waited for Bruce to come to.

"What? No sappy welcome back to the living speech?" Bruce muttered into her hair, weakly placing a hand over one of hers. She choked on laughter and tears.

"You were never in danger of dying." She managed thickly through tears and ragged breaths. She felt a little embarrassment through the rest of the unbelievable emotions that had her clinging to Bruce like he was the only solid thing on earth. She was afraid to lift her head, to let the others see her.

Thankfully, Bruce understood the tears without having to be told. She blessed whatever angel had created those piercing brown eyes. The Hulk stirred slightly at her tears and let out an audibly pained whimper. Lending strength to Bruce, the Hulk watched through someone else's eyes as his other half picked the girl up and started the journey back home.


	13. Chapter 13

She had been catatonic for two months before her mind really began to heal. Loki had a peculiar brand of crazy that left her broken in a whole new way; Bruce couldn't even fathom what must have been going on in her mind the entire time. He knew she was getting better though. Her face had become slowly but steadily less haunted as time went on. She knew what she was doing. Or he hoped he did.

Bruce had fallen into a very sad routine of working, taking care of Rhiannon, and then trying not to have nightmares about Loki and what he must have done to leave her this way. A lot of the time, he would end up in her room when he should have been sleeping. He watched her troubled sleep and felt sorry for himself and for her; he was getting lonelier by the day.

The blur of the routine left him with three states of being; doctor mode, work mode, and misery. He was in work mode again; putting the final touches on the gel he'd created to store energy for Rhiannon. He was focused solely on his work in a way only Bruce could manage. He was so oblivious to the world that when Rhiannon shuffled into the lab and sat in her favorite arm chair with a sketch book, he didn't even notice.

Three hours later, he stopped working and put his head on the desk, exhausted in every way. He listened to his breathing and the silence of the lab; his ears pricked when he heard the creak of leather and a pencil scratching over course paper.

His head snapped up so fast that he almost pulled a muscle in his neck. "Rhiannon?" He gasped and felt his arms go numb as his heart dropped to the floor.

She glanced up at him over her sketch pad with an upturned brow and a small smile. She turned her attention back to drawing as he collected himself. For a few minutes he felt like he forgot to breath, then he forgot how to move and focused on the thousands of things he had practiced saying in his head over the months.

Carefully rehearsed lines and soulful proclamations turned to mush in his brain as his legs urged him blindly forward. He stood over her chair, blocking her light for no other reason than to stare at her slack jawed.

She put her sketch pad down and looked at him with that same sad smile until, finally, he broke the silence. "You're up."

"Yes. Thank you for that incredibly astute observation, Sherlock." She chuckled slightly, making his chest seize with relief. He'd missed that laugh.

He quickly gathered her in his arms, hugging her with all his might and thanking whatever force had managed to help her through. She hugged back with weak but enthusiastic arms.

"You've got a lot of time to make up for."

She chuckled a little bit before pulling back to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "So do you."

~El Fin~


End file.
